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Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention describes rimless eyewear constructed entirely without the use of adhesives or the need for mechanical attachments within the viewing aperture of the lens to attach eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces to the lens.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the main advantages of rimless eyewear, making them more desirable, is the wide, unobstructed field of view and lightness in weight afforded by their design. Most rimless eyewear is, however either semi-rimless eyewear in which lenses are suspended between eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces by means of a thin flexible strand providing the function of a frame, or rim, or by is components mounted within the field of view using adhesives or mechanical attachments. If a flexible strand is not used, eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces are usually supported by means of screws fitted into holes formed through the lens surface. The bridge provides the connection between the two lenses, and positions the eyewear over the nose. Endpieces are located at the outer edge of the lenses, and are the means by which the temples are connected to the lenses.
In one form of eyewear, the semi-rimless form described by Hirschmann et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,169 B1, is not truly rimless in that a thin, flexible strand is wrapped around the lenses. It is to this strand that the bridge and endpiece components are attached by mechanical means. Even though the field of view is unobstructed, the flexible strand and its concomitant mechanical attachment does add weight to the eyewear.
Connor et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,755 B1, Masunaga, U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,870, Yoshida, U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,141 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,126 B1, and Tachibana, U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,200 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,002 B1, teach rimless eyewear construction wherein eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces are attached to the lenses by mechanical means involving screws, pins or clamps. These points of attachment usually invade the field of view and add weight which further deters from the desirability.
In a similar fashion, Izumitami, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,646,706, RE37,425 E, and RE37,461 E, teaches a similar rimless eyewear construction wherein eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces are attached to the lenses by inserting and cementing pins into holes drilled in the lens itself. Even though elimination of the use of mechanical means of attachment minimizes the weight of the eyewear, it suffers from the same invasion of the field of view by holes and adhesive as described above.
Until the design and method described in this patent, no construction of rimless eyewear truly provides construction entirely without the use of adhesives or the need for mechanical attachments within the viewing aperture of the lens to attach eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces to the lens.
This invention describes rimless eyewear constructed entirely without the need for drilling, or the use of adhesives or mechanical attachments within the viewing aperture of the lens to attach eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces to the lens.
Until the design and method described in this patent, no construction of rimless eyewear truly provides construction entirely without the use of adhesives or the need for mechanical attachments within the viewing aperture of the lens to attach eyewear components such as the bridge and endpieces to the lens. By taking advantage of modern techniques of thermal fusion, actual eyewear components made of plastic, plastic/metal or hybrid material may be directly caused to form bond with one another. Thermally fused bonds are 90%-95% as strong as the material itself.
Since the thermal fusion takes place at and between the surfaces of the joined components, components such as the bridge and endpieces can be attached directly to the edge of the lens, keeping the component completely outside of the viewing aperture. Also, since no mechanical means is use, the weight of the finished eyewear is minimized.
The process of thermally fusing materials together is commonly termed as welding. There are numerous techniques used for thermally fusing or welding plastic components together, such as for example, vibration welding, sonic welding, laser welding, particle magnetic welding, and plate welding. All provide similar results. All thermal fusion, or thermal welding, techniques are based on locally heating the junction to a temperature beyond the point where the material softens. The heated materials form a puddle of soft plastic wherein the materials make contact called plastization or liquidification. The liquefied materials are commingled at the junction when pressure is applied pushing the components together.